Louisville, Ky. (January 15, 2012) —Racing concluded at the 2012 UCI Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships Sunday with six more Americans claiming the top step of the podium. Great Britain claimed two gold medals out of eight.

With conditions changing throughout the day, the women 50-54 took to the course while it was still covered in a coating of snow and frozen ruts. Karen Brems (Redwood City, Calif./Team Rambuski Law) claimed victory, followed by Kris Walker (Pocatello, Idaho/Contender Bicycles), and Ruth Sherman (Spencer, N.Y./ Corning/NoTubes Race Team/Swan Cycles) rounded out the podium.

As the day progressed, the frozen ruts gave way to perfect muddy conditions under sunny skies. Glen Norton (Renton, Wash./Team Redline) claimed the first gold for the men today in the 60-64 division ahead of Fred Wittwer (Charlottesville, Va./Alan North America Cycling Team) and Gregory Pautsch (Chippewa Falls, Wis./Planet Bike).

The Americans’ lock on the top step of the podium was broken when Great Britain’s Victor Barnett (Welland Valley CC) stormed to victory in the 65-69 group ahead of John Elgart(Sacramento, Calif./ Webcor/Alto Velo) and James Wagner (Auburn, Wash./ Cycle Therapy/4-Corners Racing).

The women had the marquis spot on the day’s schedule, racing the final two contests of the day in perfect ‘cross conditions. Katrina Dowidchuk (Wilmington, Del./ Team TBB/Deep Blue) stormed to victory ahead of Kimberly Flynn (Hixson, Tenn./US Stove-Trek p/b Vantaggio) and Margell Abel (Boulder, Colo./Tough Girls Cycling) in the 40-44 division.

The final race of the 2012 Masters Cyclo-cross Worlds was a battle for dominance in the 45-49 women’s division. Shannon Gibson(Durango, Colo./Stan’s NoTubes Elite Cyclocross Team) won ahead of Lori Cooke (Pembroke, Mass./Cycle Lodge) and Jennifer Maxwell(Washington, D.C./Van Dessel Factory Team p/b Sterke Meiden), who made up huge ground to go from sixth to claim the third step of the podium.

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships return to Louisville, Ky., in 2013 when Masters racing returns January 29-30 and the UCI Elite Cyclo-cross World Championships race February 2-3 in more history-making cyclo-cross racing.